Upcoming Christie's Auction Will Put Not One, But Eight Harry Winston Opus Watches On The Block

On Wednesday, May 30th Christie's will be holding their Important Watches auction in Hong Kong. Many rare watches will be making an appearance from the likes of Patek Philippe, Rolex and Audemars Piguet. Included among them will be Harry Winston's Opus watches, and not just one or two, but eight of them. Opus 1 thru 7, along with 9 will all hit the block that Wednesday evening, providing collectors a chance at two thirds of the entire Opus collection.

On Wednesday, May 30th Christie's will be holding their Important Watches auction in Hong Kong. Many rare watches will be making an appearance from the likes of Patek Philippe, Rolex and Audemars Piguet. Included among them will be Harry Winston's Opus watches, and not just one or two, but eight of them. Opus 1 thru 7, along with 9 will all hit the block that Wednesday evening, providing collectors a chance at two thirds of the entire Opus collection.

The Harry Winston Opus series of watches are the brain child of Max Busser, the MB of MB&F and one time Managing Director of Harry Winston Rare Timepieces. Busser, seeing the potential of bringing the best independent watchmakers into the fold in making a special watch for Harry Winston once a year turned out to be pretty good idea. The project brings exposure to the folks doing arguably the most interesting work in the business, names like Felix Baumgatner, Vianney Halter and Greubel Forsey. We've brought you interviews and first looks at the last couple of Opus watches, which have turned out to be one of the more anticipated reveals of the Baselworld show every year.

So, the watches coming to auction in a couple weeks are built in limited quantities and often take extensive periods of time to create and deliver. As you may have guessed, seeing eight of them together anywhere is a very rare sight indeed, much less all for sale at the same time. What are they?

Lot 4837 - Opus I, the inaugural piece was developed with F.P. Journe, the man who inspired Max to devise the Opus project in order to bring exposure to the independents. The watch is a five day power-reserve with diamonds set around the bezel. Est. $60,000 - 80,000

Lot 4851 - Opus II, developed with Antoine Preziuso, this is a skeletonized tourbillon set in a platinum case. Est. $100,000 - 150,000

Lot 4877 - Opus III, developed with Vianney Halter, this is one of the more unusual watches, jumping hours, seconds and date. Est. $75,000 - 150,000

Lot 5033 - Opus V, developed with Felix Baumgartner (of Urwerk), this was the first look we got at the satellite hour display that we know and love on many Urwerk pieces. This is set with diamonds around the bezel and dial. Est. $150,000 - 200,000

Lot 5122 - Opus VI, developed with Greubel Forsey and features their double tourbillon exposed on the dial. Est. $320,000 - 500,000

Lot 5171 - Opus IX, developed with Jean-Marc Wiederrecht, designed by Eric Giroud. The watch features diamond and ruby set belts that display the time. Est. $80,000 - 120,000

Take a more in-depth look at each of these watches within the Chrisite's online auction catalogue, which is located right here. There are more than a few other watches of interest so prepare to lose some time if you start flipping through it. If you'd like to get your hands on one of these rare birds, you can register as a bidder right here. Check out more images from Christie's below.